Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802145825 ISBN 13: 9780802145826

Publisher: Grove Press, 2014

The first deep-dive narrative by a veteran journalist covering the King of Pop’s convoluted final years on earth . . . [Untouchable] helps cast Jackson in a new light.” Los Angeles Times

A dishy Michael Jackson biography that makes the exhaustively covered King of Pop fascinating all over again.” People

A tale of family, fame, lost childhood, and startling accusations never heard before.” ABC Nightline

Delivering exclusive information and a compelling psychological portrait, Untouchable is the story of Michael Jackson from his boy idol childhood to the final four-year odyssey of his tumultuous adult life. Beginning with his last departure from Neverland, Sullivan captures Jackson’s final years shuttling around the world, and plans to recapture his wealth and reputation with a comeback album and planned series of fifty mega-concerts. Sullivan delves deep into Jackson’s past, depicting a man both naive and deeply cunning, a devoted father whose parenting decisions created international outcry, a shrewd businessman whose failures nearly brought down a megacorporation, and an inveterate narcissist who desperately wanted a quiet, normal life. Sullivan has never-before-reported information about Jackson’s business dealings, the pedophilia allegations that besmirched his reputation, and the fate of his billion-dollar-plus estate, and exclusive access to inner-circle figures including Jackson’s former attorneys and managers. Untouchable is a remarkable portrait of the man who still reigns as King of Pop.

Randall Sullivan more than tells the story of Michael Jackson he relives it. . . . Sullivan leaves few stones unturned.” The Daily Beast

Review:

Amazon Best Books of the Month, November 2012: Does the world need another book about the late King of Pop? Do you want to read one? Before opening onetime Rolling Stone editor Sullivan’s massive (775+ pages) book, I would surely have screamed NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Everybody knows the story: adorable musical prodigy grows up into weird, plastic surgery–addicted, money-obsessed celebrity who may or may not have been a pedophile but is doubtless sexually stunted. And how could he not have been, given the horrific treatment he received from his father, who apparently couldn’t decide whether to beat him to death or just pimp him out as a performer? Sullivan hits all those notes, of course, and while the recitation of Jackson’s many debts and trials verges on wearying, the sheer accumulation of detail and unusual amount of access to longtime Jackson advisors and relatives also makes you realize, once and for all, the extent of the damage done both to and by the guy the British press dubbed “Wacko Jacko.” From the very first scene--in which Joe and Katherine Jackson trick their way into their son’s home--the Michael Jackson that emerges here is both hero and villain, a loving father (truly!) and a screaming egomaniac, a sometimes brilliant businessman who was also pathetically naïve. Go on: Check out this train wreck of a life. I dare you to look away. --Sara Nelson

About the Author:

Randall Sullivan was a contributing editor to Rolling Stone for over twenty years. He is also the author of The Price of Experience, LAbyrinth, and The Miracle Detective, the book that inspired the television show The Miracle Detectives, which he hosted and which premiered on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) in January 2011. He lives in Oregon.